Well, David pulled it off again; he surprised me for my 30th birthday. All I know was that I couldn’t make plans from Friday night through Sunday evening. Oh, and of course, that I would need to pack! Me? For what? Anyway, we set off nice and early Saturday morning, stopping by a Mexican restaurant for breakfast (an old favorite called Alberto’s located in Salem, OR). Still, I had no idea where we where going until I saw signs for Newport! Finally, a clue!! That is, of course, until we drove right through Newport.

A few miles later, we pulled off for directions or to turn around, so I thought anyway. But then, David parked and said he was going to check in. “What? Heree? Are you kidding me?” This resort was all about zen, relaxation and inner peace.

Once checked in, we went straight for the spa. The changing rooms were carpeted and stocked with bath robe, ice water with lemon and lime slices, cucumber slices and ices towels to use while in the sauna. Oh, and get this!! From the pool and hot tub, we saw nothing but the rocks and the ocean.

The rooms were just as glamorous with a balcony, overlooked the ocean due west, which made for a great sunset.

View Julie’s 30th Birthday Gallery

OK”¦so it’s been awhile since we updated the blog. Things have been busy for both Julie and I since we got back from our road trip. In fact, I just added the last post of our road trip before this one. We hope to add more posts between now and then with all the events we’ve done, but, for now, we’ll start with the latest just to get things started again.

Julie and I have spent the weekend at the beach, staying at a place that has a view of the beach in Seaside, OR. Julie’s mother, Char, had a special birthday celebration to mark a significant year of her life and much of the family came to the beach to help celebrate the occasion. The beach is Char’s favorite getaway in Oregon and it was a very special treat for us, especially for me, after another stressful week at Yesmail.

While staying at the beach, we had a special little guest with us., Julie’s 19-month old niece. It was a big relief for Julie’s brother and sister-in-law and was the only way for them to come to the beach with us as it would be very hectic for them to take care of two very energetic kids. I have to say that it was a pleasure for us to take care of Erika; she’s definitely a cute little angel.

On Saturday, it was quite windy. Julie packed a kite if such a weather condition occurred, so there was no question that it was the time to go out to the sandy beach and fly it. I haven’t flown a kite for years, but a few months ago Julie surprised me by buying me a kite that was a form of a dragon. It is pretty cool so I can see why it couldn’t be passed up. I got it out into the sky right away and it didn’t come down for all the time that we were out there. I couldn’t believe how fun it was to fly the kite. It was really relaxing that it felt like it was a meditational moment.

For Char’s birthday dinner, we all went to Moe’s on Cannon Beach. A few other of Julie’s family members came to join us as it was a surprise visit for Char. This morning, we’re all having a family breakfast and then we’ll be heading home to enjoy the rest of the day in Portland. After experiencing this weekend getaway, we decided that we needed to do things like this more often. Hopefully we can stay true to that decision.

View the Family Birthday Beach Getaway Gallery